


freedom fighters

by seekingtomorrow



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Steampunk, F/F, Fighter Pilots, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-05
Updated: 2014-04-05
Packaged: 2018-01-18 05:16:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1416445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seekingtomorrow/pseuds/seekingtomorrow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a world where the skies have become more inhabitable than the ground below, the floating islands of Maria, Rose and Sina house a majority of humankind.  However, these are not peaceful times.  When the Titans launch an assault, the military must send out their most talented pilots to counterattack.</p>
            </blockquote>





	freedom fighters

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote a steampunk au on my tumblr for fun and couple of people said i should write it and because i have very little self-control when it comes to things like these, here it is.

“The Titans breached Maria at 0500 hours and broke through the outer hull within an hour,” Erwin Smith said, his eyes roving over the faces of his cadets.  “We’ve had several observatory planes tracking their movements and now that they’ve attacked, we have no choice but to retaliate.”

From beside her, Historia felt Mikasa Ackerman stiffen.  The blonde watched the older girl whose demeanor remained as stoic as ever, but the tiny wrinkle between her brows gave away her concern.  “Are you alright?”

Mikasa nodded resolutely.  “I’m fine,” she mouthed.

“Your mission is to infiltrate the Titan base,” Erwin continued, gesturing to the map on the table in front of him.  “According to our intel, they have an airship stationed below us.”  He moved the figurines around with a pointer.  “Pilots, you will come in from the skies and take out their cannons and main engines.  Walkers will be dropped as well.  You are to aim for any onboard vehicles they have.”

Historia watched Mikasa’s eyes flicker over to Eren Jaeger and the girl sighed, her shoulder slumping.  “Worried?”  Historia nudged the brunette.  “You’ll be fine.”

“I’m not worried about myself,” she said, eyes still locked on her younger brother.  “I’m worried about Eren.”

Historia nodded, following Mikasa’s gaze.  Eren Jaeger was in the midst of making rude gestures to the boy beside him and would have continued if not for a sharp rap on the wrist from Corporal Levi.  “I can see where you’re coming from.  But, Eren’s good at what he does.  I’ll do all I can to make sure he doesn’t get hurt.”

“Don’t we all,” replied Mikasa dryly.  “Sorry, that wasn’t aimed at you.  I’m just tired.”  She rubbed her arms, shivering in her stiff leather jacket.  The bright, embroidered patches stood out to Historia, clashing with the small metal stars adorning the shoulders.  Mikasa Ackerman was a genius pilot, possibly the best to have entered the academy since its founding.  Her instinct and reflexes cemented her reputation as a force to be reckoned with, while her scores in hand-to-hand combat further pushed her into the upper echelons of the military. 

“You’ll be great.  I know it.”  Historia gave her friend a slight nudge.  “Now, go on out there and find Annie.  You two need to get suited up.”

Mikasa’s lips thinned, but she nodded nonetheless, sliding off her seat to look for her co-pilot.  “You be careful, too,” she called out to Historia.  “No more experimenting with the aircrafts five minutes before takeoff.”  She pulled her scarf over her mouth and nose, lowering her eyes to the ground, but not before flashing Historia a rare smile.

“I know!”  Historia laughed as her friend strode away. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Mikasa tucked errant strands of hair into her helmet, adjusting her scarf so that it lay flat against her collar.  Looking over at her partner, she saw Annie staring off into the sky vacantly, the straps of her own helmet clutched in her grip.  “You ready, Leonhardt?”

Immediately, Annie snapped out of her reverie.  “I’m always ready, Ackerman.”  Sliding her helmet on, she slipped the mandatory goggles over her head, adjusting them so as to not obstruct her vision.  “We’re dropping Ymir in.”

Behind them, a maintenance crew—Historia wasn’t among them—was attaching the anthropomorphic walker to their plane.  The vehicle was smaller than the plane, but it allowed for greater maneuverability in spite of its bulk.  With its claw-like arms, the walker was capable of flipping over vehicles far larger than itself.  Beside the walker stood Ymir, its pilot, rolling her eyes at Reiner Braun, another walker-pilot.  Both were clad in fireproof suits and heavily armed.  Though the walker’s thick armour served as adequate protection, occasionally, pilots were compromised from the inside out. 

Mikasa placed a hand on the cool metal of their plane, watching her peers run around the hangar, jumpsuits half-undone and helmets hanging at the back of their heads.  “I know.  How’s your gunning arm?”

Annie rolled her shoulder.  “Stiff.”

Without thinking about it, Mikasa leaned down from her perch on the plane’s wing and placed her hands on Annie’s shoulders.  She began to rub circles into the muscles and soon felt the girl relax under her grip.  “Better?”

“Yeah.”

“Pilots, to your planes!”  The voice of Historia Reiss, chief mechanic, echoed through the large hangar.  She held a clipboard in one hand and to her side stood her crew, the brightest minds of the military. 

Mikasa swung her legs over into the cockpit and slid in.  Stretching the elastic of her own goggles, she slid them over her head.  Her eyes scanned the various meters around her and when she was satisfied with what she saw, she began to angle the control column.

“Mikasa!”  Historia’s voice called from her right.

Mikasa paused and leaned over the side of the plane.  “What is it?”

Historia began to gnaw on her lower lip.  “Uh,” she took a deep breath, “if you’re ever in trouble, I added a little something to help you out.  It’s the bright red switch.”

Mikasa’s hand brushed against it.  “Oh, I see.  Thanks.”

“Be careful out there!”  Historia began to back away, her hand pressed to her hair.  “Oh, and don’t drop Ymir in from so high up!  She said it’s bad on her back!”

“We’ll take care of your girlfriend, Historia,” said Mikasa, but Historia couldn’t hear her, so she simply gave the other girl a thumbs-up.  As the crew evacuated the landing bay, she flicked several switches and felt the plane shudder to life beneath her fingers.  Using the control column, she moved the vehicle outside.  “Get ready, Leonhardt!”

“I’m always ready, Ackerman,” came Annie’s voice from behind her. 

In a two-seater plane such as theirs, the pilots sat back-to-back.  One controlled the movements of the plane, while the other operated the large gun at the back.  Many found it difficult to fly in tandem with another person, but for Annie and Mikasa, it had become second nature.

The plane began to pick up speed and within seconds, they took off.  Mikasa felt a smile grow on her face as she watched the sky above her.  Looking down, she saw the crew waving up at the pilots and a part of her couldn’t help but to wave back. 

“Incoming!”  Annie called from behind her.  “On our right!”

“That was fast,” murmured Mikasa, turning the stick sharply.  The plane sharply veered left, sinking down into the clouds below.  “I spot the battleship!” 

“Getting ready to drop the walker,” responded Annie.

Mikasa deftly maneuvered the plane between enemy pilots, eventually finding a spot close enough where she could safely drop Ymir.  The walker sped through the air for a moment before the parachute opened up and they slowly began to drop to the enemy battleship.  Once the parachute folded up, Ymir would send a flare from below.

“It’s green,” confirmed Annie.  “We’re off.”

As they had slowed down momentarily, enemy planes began to converge on them.  Mikasa let the opposition think they were going to make contact, allowing them to move in closer and closer.  “Wait for it,” she told Annie.  “Wait for it.”

Annie had her finger on the trigger and her other hand pressed to the safety.  The plane at their back was getting even closer and was within shooting range, but she waited.  “Now!”

Mikasa let the plane drop, causing a few enemy pilots above her to collide.  Kicking the aircraft into gear, she shot upwards, flying ahead of the enemy.  “Open fire!”

Bullets rained down on enemy planes.  The air was filled with fire and smoke, debris showering the sea below.  However, every downed plane meant another obstacle for Mikasa, yet she flew through them with ease, trusting only her eyes.

“Mikasa, use the missiles,” Annie said, her voice calm despite the war around them.  “We can’t shake them off unless you actually hit them with something.”

“Hang on,” replied Mikasa.  “I have an idea.”  It was something she’d seen Commander Erwin Smith attempt once, during a demonstration.  It was a common move, but difficult to execute without the proper technique and aircraft.

Annie sighed, but kept her gun rattling all the same.  Another plane behind them erupted into flames, falling out of the air and into the ocean below. 

Mikasa turned their own aircraft to follow the falling plane.  As the plane fell, they caught speed and the enemy pilots surrounding them continued.  The ocean was approaching fast.

“I hope you know what you’re doing.” 

“Trust me, Annie.”  Mikasa narrowed her eyes, moving both her hands to cover the control column.  The churning waters were coming closer, its white-tipped waves opening up like the maw of some giant beast. 

“I trust you.”

Mikasa threw herself backwards, pulling at the control column with all her might.  Their plane skimmed the surface of the water for a moment before its nose began to angle toward the sky again.  The enemy, however, wasn’t so lucky, and many of their vehicles plummeted into the waters below. 

“The cannons, Mikasa.”

“I know,” she said, gritting her teeth.  Above them loomed the Titan airship, its underbelly littered with cannons that fired on any plane that got too close.

“We have to take those out.  If you get in close, I can do it.”

Mikasa nodded.  Pulling at the scarf around her neck, she let the cloth loosen slightly.  “Let’s do this.”  They began to pick up speed, shooting toward the airship.  As they got closer, Mikasa flicked a switch that dropped missiles from the bottom of their aircraft.  They sailed toward the airship, colliding with it, and exploding.  The smoke was dense, curling off into the sky and rising higher and higher before dissipating fully. 

Yellow flares erupted from the sides of the airship.  Smaller planes—green planes painted with blue and white wings—flew in. 

“Walker pilots are getting picked up,” noted Annie. 

“Do you see Ymir?”  Mikasa scanned the deck, but from their vantage point, she couldn’t tell friend from foe. 

“I see Reiss.”

“Reiss?  What’s Historia doing there?”  Mikasa squinted her eyes, but she lacked the hawk-like vision that Annie had.  However, when a plane whizzed by them with incredible speed, the likes of which Mikasa had never seen before, a relaxed smile graced her face.  She caught a glimpse of blonde hair and crystalline blue eyes.  “Picking up her girlfriend.”

Annie scoffed.  “The battlefield is no place for romantics.”

“And yet you’re here,” retorted Mikasa, surveying the airship from above.  They circled it once and when they had determined that all of the cannons had been destroyed, they began to peel away. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Historia Reiss hated the warzone.  She hated the rattling machine guns and the screeching of tearing metal.  She hated the way that blood melted into ocean water and how bodies floated to the top, pale and bloated.  “Ymir!”

A walker turned to her and from the iron-tipped claws on its right arm, Historia could tell it was her partner.  It began to speed up towards her, but a titan soldier took notice of the two and advanced in his own walker.

“Ymir, watch out!”  Historia cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled, but amidst the gunfire and planes flying above, there was no way she could hear her.  “Ymir!  Ymir!”

The enemy grew closer and Historia felt her face contort.  She hated the warzone, hated how she used her hands to craft planes that were later used to kill others.  She knew it was necessary, but it didn’t mean she hated it any less.  Her hand ghosted against a black switch on her dashboard.

The enemy walker raised a cannon of its own.

Historia made her decision.  The wings of her plane opened up to reveal hidden guns and without hesitating, she opened fire on the enemy.  Their rusted walker burst into flames and exploded, scattering debris everywhere. 

Ymir stopped.

“Ymir!  Hurry!”

The walker stopped next to her plane and its head opened up.  Ymir sat inside, her face streaked with dirt and grime while her hair was plastered to her face.  “Miss me?”

Historia pursed her lips and huffed.  “Hurry up.”

After they’d rapidly hooked the walker back to the plane and Ymir was secured inside the aircraft, Historia took off, aiming to fly back to Rose.  She felt a hand on her shoulder.  “Hm?”  She asked without turning around.

“Thanks.  For that.”

“You’d do the same.  You’ve _done_ the same,” she corrected herself.  “I should be the one thanking you.”

“I guess that means we’re even,” said Ymir.

“I guess it does.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Titans had released their trump card.  A fleet of black aircrafts came pouring from the flaming aircraft’s belly.  Their sides were emblazed with white skulls and Mikasa recognized them as the elite airforce.

With help from their comrades, Annie had managed to take down a few, while Mikasa simply out-maneuvered everyone they couldn’t hit.  Still, the elite had proven their worth, getting a few shots in of their own.  Eventually, Annie and Mikasa’s plane was riddled with bullet holes and long scratches that Mikasa knew would only rile Historia up. 

However, one plane had taken refuge in the clouds when nobody was looking and when Mikasa and Annie passed by, they shot out, opening fire on the two.

Immediately, Mikasa dropped off, letting the plane veer to the left, but the glass shattered around her.  She felt shards cut into her cheek and tinier pieces dust her hair.

“Our right wing’s been hit,” reported Annie, her voice muffled.  “And we’re practically exposed right now.  We’re not going to last much longer.”

Mikasa ducked her head against the rushing wind above.  Her hand brushed against a red switch underneath her dashboard and she suddenly remembered Historia’s words.

_“If you’re ever in trouble, I added a little something to help you out.”_

“Annie, keep your head down!”  Mikasa yelled and with one hand on the control column, she flicked the switch.  Immediately, the engines flared bright blue.  For a moment, the plane almost stopped completely before shooting ahead. 

Wind rushing through her hair, Mikasa squinted her eyes and kept her hands steady on the control column.  It must have only been seconds, but it felt like she was wrestling for control of the vehicle for hours.  Finally, the plane slowed down, just as the clouds above them parted and the looming spires of Rose appeared.  They were back.

Annie raised her arm, shooting a flare gun into the sky.  The green column arced in the air, letting the ground crew know who was approaching.

The plane slowed as it touched the landing and when the wheels finally stopped, Mikasa slumped in her seat, exhausted.  She felt someone press a cloth to her forehead and when she looked up, she met the gaze of Annie.  The other girl held a bloodied handkerchief in one hand.

“You’re bleeding,” she said plaintively. 

“I know,” breathed Mikasa, feeling the red liquid run into her eyes. 

“Be more careful next time,” continued Annie, extending a hand to Mikasa as they jumped down from the cockpit.  The taller girl refused her help, but when she nearly stumbled, Annie wrapped her free arm around her waist.

Mikasa scanned the hangar, heart pounding furiously.

“Jaeger’s safe.  I saw him when we were coming in.”

Mikasa looked over at her co-pilot, but her eyes were elsewhere. 

“Don’t worry.  I’ve got your back, Mikasa.”

It may have been a combination of exhaustion and her overactive imagination, but Mikasa swore the hand around her waist tightened just for a moment. 

“Thanks, Annie.”

“It’s my job to make sure you don’t screw up.”

It was definitely her imagination, then.


End file.
